Annual bird race was less of a race and more of a pure joy of bird-watching. Its an event where we spend 12 hours – 6am to 6pm – looking for as many different species within Bangalore.The event ended with a get together, different birders sharing their experiences and some small speeches by eminent birders.
Though we formed 3 teams – we actually all did the birding together. Below find small blogs written by different participants and the list birds we saw.
ANSH:
We started at 5:00 am in the morning,we went then when we reached in half way then we were sleeping and the car’s (window glass came out )so we were saying to a child that take it up it is very cold at last he put the glass up then uncle told he has done a lot of effort to do so we shall say him thank you and we all told thank you and we reached lalbagh we all meat and we all started we saw 30 birds and then we went to banerghatta zoo then we saw a lot of sunbirds and parakeet soafter that we all were hungry we all found out where to eat but before that we ate ice cream then we went and we went to agara lake in volvo then we saw a lot of egeraites and different types of egrets .then we all went to kaikondrahalli lake then we saw a lot of birds and we saw a snake it was very big and we saw kingfisher and we saw indian paradise flycatcher so it was nice and then we went to our venue when we entered then everybody clapped then we all got fresh and ate biscuits and then we saw a video then they all gave a speech after we all ate dinner and went back to the campus and we all reached 12:00 pm.
ANUPAMA:
I am a passive birder. What it means is that I look at the birds when our paths meet; I don’t go out searching for them. Then what was it for me to be participating in the bird race again this year? It was a day where I enjoyed the company of enthusiastic young and seasoned birders, felt amazed at their abilities of spotting birds, learnt about preferred habitats of a few birds, observed their flying styles & behavior and admired the brilliance of colours and camouflaging cleverness that exist in Nature. Like last year, it was a way for me to take the time out to acknowledge the presence of these winged beauties in the larger scheme of things – we humans exist because you all do!
ARSALAN
I used to know only about crow sparrow and these small small birds ,and see different kinds of birdsand explore to walk in different places then leaving from campus early in the morning had breakfast while spotting birds and also enjoyed saw lots of birds whole day was tiring , and we had lunch near bannerghatta zoo it was awesome for me i liked spotting birds near lake aagara ,it is amazing then we reached the venue point we don’t spotted lots of birds but it was good enough for us and at last we reached freshen up their and after that had snacks and went in the speech it was very good came to know different peoples and at last had buffet and left for campus .
DAVIN
It was my first time experience for the bird race i was thrilled when i came to know that many birds i have not seen is right in front of my eyes – shikra, asian paradise flycatcher, etc .Now that i had my experience i feel like going to all the bird races in bangalore.It was a breathtaking experience i could see more birds if i was silent this time i was a little jumpy so i couldn’t see much birds. While i was seeing the birds i was wondering all the action it would do what type of sound will it make. Before i go to next one must be prepared. This time i was type of confused i knew very few birds very few sounds i was more all interested on spotting the bird i was tired a few times seeing the same birds and also i was surprised i did not see a indian roller at all . I was also happy i got the opportunity to join thebird race.
LEELA
Bird race was amazing event to explore the beauty of creation of birds and to know about its habitats.I enjoyed thoroughly watching the birds, observing their beauty,features, bright colours, pattern of legs, eyes,beak and structure of their flight was just beyond my imagination. I Being a nature lover and admirer, feel Bird watching is such a soothing and relaxing activity to just hear to birds sounds, watch,observe and enjoy their activities and just be in nature. The joy and peace in nature can never be challenged by any other recreation. Bird watching is just a perfect gift for all who love to spend time in nature.
PRATYAKSH –
At first I was very upset and angry that I had to wake up at 4 in the morning. The car ride to Lalbagh was a bit sleepy( I slept in the car a little bit). When we reached Lalbagh I saw a couple of new faces, I was actually wondering about how much I would talk to them.
Then we started bird race, at first we saw Parakeets and lots and lots and lots of rock pigeons a.k.a normal pigeons. When we journeyed a little farther we saw the real beauty of Lalbagh, like 2 Spotted owlets, Brahminy Kite, a Heron, Common Kingfisher ,Starlings, Spot Billed Duck, etc. Seeing Spotted Owlets and a couple of types of Kingfishers for the first time WAS AMAZING, I felt like I was in heaven.
1:30 to 2:30pm we had a REALLY REALLY AWESOME lunch at a local place. We ordered a few chicken masalas, a few paneer vegetables, 2 bowls of rice, few parathas, a few chapatis and a couple of bowls of pulao. I ate 2 parathas and CHICKEN (I over ate).
Then at 8 we luckily got a Volvo(I felt AWESOME) and we went to Bannerghatta Zoo. There we went CRAZY with BIRDS like Green Bee Eaters, Mania, Night Heron, Intermediate Egret, Spotted Dove, Indian Robin, Rosy Starlings, a few kind of Flycatchers and the best of all the birds we saw was I think the ASIAN PARADISE FLYCATCHER while we were coming back. It was awesome and I felt special to see the Asian Paradise Flycatcher.
Then we went to Agara Lake in a local bus where we saw some nice birds. We saw:Black Winged Stilt, Night Heron, Shikra, Ashy drongo, Little cormorant, Honey buzzard, Little Egret and more. It felt like my mind was a bird book that shows birds live. We even saw 2 alligators, 1 of them was sadly dead. It was amazing to see how still the alive one was. By the time we were coming out from Agara lake, I felt VERY tired and my legs were aching as well. But I knew that we had to go to two more places.
The second last place we went to was the Kaikondrahalli Lake in another local bus in which I slept for about 5 to 10 mins. The lake was just a piece of pure beauty. We saw:Black Winged Stilt, Chocolate vanila Eagle, Spot Billed Duck, Ashy Drongo, Grey Heron, Parakeets, Egrets. After we were finished with the Kaikondrahalli Lake, I felt like I was going to fall because of the leg pain. But at the same time I felt grateful and joyful that I got to see all these birds.
FINALLY!! we had to go to just one more place which was the Bird Race event. First when we entered we got an applause I felt funny and special. Then I got a soda for myself aaaand I spilled it on Davin and the couch. We even got free notebooks, notepads and pens.Towards the end, it was just some thankyous and a few words of kindness BLAH BLAH BLAH. After all that was done, we got some nice fancy dinner. I ate a bit of pasta, 1 chapati, some more chicken, and for dessert, I ate couple of scoops of ice cream (I over ate again). After everyone was done eating, we asked the person who started the Bird Race in the first place to donate us a spare telescope that he had. HE SAID YES.
At the end we all went back to Aarohi and I was INCREDIBLY TIRED.
RATNESH
Tweets and Chirps
is all we heard.
Beaks and tails
is all we saw.
Green or brown
is all we questioned.
Ibis or Heron
is all we asked.
Lunch or more birding
was our dilemma.
How many we saw
was of no care.
For 12 hours in a day
We raced behind them
Binocular or not
we loved every bird we saw!
DHRUPAD
So my experience was quit good and like I like the idea of travelling in public transportation and like I liked the Birding for one day even if it was tiring I liked seeing birds which we hardly see often and I also liked that there lot of people who joined us in the bird race and thanks you to chandu Ratnesh Leela for taking us with them for the bird race and I liked that the people who came were cooperating with us and talking care of others.
YASHAS
I was happy to see many rare birds in bird race. I loved watching brahminy kite, water snake , kingfisher and an eagle at a very close distance. Listening is very important in bird watching along with open eyes for spotting.
I felt little angry and disappointed with myself and group in bird race. If we had maintained little more silence in the group , we could have observed or watched more birds . My previous experience of spotting was around 85 – 90 birds which we could not meet this time. We were also throwing random names for birds by just guessing.
We had lot of fun during lunch time.
We were a green team – used only BMTC buses for travel).
6-30 to 8-00 AM : Lalbagh
8-00 – 9-00 : Travel to Banerghatta Zoo
9-00 to 12-00: Birding in and around the zoo area
12-00 to 1-30: Travel back to city
1-30 to 2-30: Lunch
2-30 to 3-00: Travel to Agara lake
3-00 to 3-30: Birding at Agara lake
3-30 to 4-00: Travel to Kaikondarahalli lake
4-00 to 5-00: Birding at Kaikondarahalli Lake
5-00: Travel to get-together venue (reached by 6-15 PM)
LIST OF BIRDS WE SAW:
1. Grey-headed Starling (Sturnia malabarica)
2. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
3. Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
4. Lesser Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna javanica)
5. Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
6. White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
7. Black-crowned Night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
8. Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)
9. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
10. Blyth’s Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum)
11. Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis)
12. Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis)
13. Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger)
14. Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata)
15. Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia)
16. Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)
17. Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis)
18. Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)
19. Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis)
20. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae)
21. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
22. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
23. White-browed Fantail (Rhipidura aureola)
24. Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)
25. Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus)
26. Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala)
27. White-bellied Drongo (Dicrurus caerulescens)
28. Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)
29. White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
30. Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense)
31. Pale-billed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorynchos)
32. Black-winged Cuckooshrike (Coracina melaschistos)
33. Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis)
34. Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus)
35. Great Tit (Parus major)
36. Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicatus)
37. Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
38. Altai Accentor (Prunella himalayana)
39. White-browed Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)
40. Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
41. Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata)
42. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
43. Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
44. Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)
45. Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio (porphyrio) poliocephalus)
46. Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides)
47. Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus)
48. Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
49. Spotted Owl (Athene brama)
50. Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
51. Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
52. Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
53. Shikra (Accipiter badius)
54. Indian Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo)
55. Eastern Jungle Crow (Corvus (macrorynchos) levaillantii)
56. House Crow (Corvus splendens)
57. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
58. Indian Pond-heron (Ardeola grayii)
59. Maroon Oriole (Oriolus traillii)
60. White-cheeked Barbet (Megalaima viridis)
61. Red-vented Bulbul (Pynconotus cafer)
62. Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus)
63. Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)
64. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
65. Black Kite (Milvus migrans govinda)
66. Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus)